The Dress

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4 ESV).

“Do you like my dress?” she asked of a passing stranger. “My Mommy made it just for me,” she said with a tear in her eye. “Well, I think it’s very pretty. So tell me little one, why are you crying?” asked the stranger of the little girl. With a quiver in her voice the little girl answered, “After Mommy made me this dress, she had to go away.” “Well now,” said the lady, “with a little girl like you waiting for her, I’m sure she’ll be right back.” “No ma’am, you don’t understand,” said the little girl through her tears, “my Daddy said that she’s up in heaven with Grandfather.”

Finally the woman realized what the child meant. And why she was crying. Kneeling down, she gently cradled the child in her arms and together they cried for the mommy that was gone. Then suddenly the little girl did something that the woman thought was a bit strange. She stopped crying, stepped back from the woman and began to sing. She sang so softly that it was almost a whisper. It was the sweetest sound the woman had ever heard, almost like the song of a very small bird.

After the child stopped singing, she explained to the lady, “My Mommy used to sing that song to me before she went away, and she made me promise to sing it whenever I started crying and it would make me stop.” “See,” she exclaimed, “it did, and now my eyes are dry!”

As the woman turned to go, the little girl grabbed her sleeve, “Lady, can you stay just a minute? I want to show you something.” “Of course,” she answered, “what do you want me to see?” Pointing to a spot on her dress, she said, “Right here is where my Mommy kissed my dress, and here,” pointing to another spot, “and here is another kiss, and here, and here. Mommy said that she put all those kisses on my dress so that I would have her kisses for every boo-boo that made me cry.”

Then the lady realized that she wasn’t just looking at a dress. She was looking at a Mother who knew she was going away and would not be there to kiss away the hurts she knew her daughter would get. She took all the love she had for her beautiful little girl and put them into a dress that her child so proudly wore. She no longer saw a little girl in a simple dress. She saw a child wrapped in her Mother’s love.

It is so easy to become frustrated with our children, no matter their age. However, when that feeling of frustration and anger rises within you, take a deep breath and remember to discipline them in love. Cover them in kisses so that they will always have an understanding of the grace of their heavenly Father.